Rockford police search for group of thugs targeting the homeless

Tuesday

Aug 26, 2008 at 12:01 AMAug 26, 2008 at 5:59 PM

They are either homeless, disabled or intoxicated — sometimes all three — and the victims of senseless attacks. This summer, the men have been easy prey for a group of young people who batter them from dusk to dawn in the downtown area.

Chris Green

They are either homeless, disabled or intoxicated — sometimes all three — and the victims of senseless attacks. This summer, the men have been easy prey for a group of young people who batter them from dusk to dawn in the downtown area.

Monday, Deputy Chief of Police Michael Booker said police are aware of the problem.

“We have made some adjustments in our patrols,” he said.

Because the victims are not always able to file a police report, Booker said, the exact number of battery cases is not known. Police are asking area homeless shelters to encourage victims to file a report.

‘They run in a pack’

“Within the last month, I’ve seen about 20 people battered to a pulp,” said David Medland, 34, a resident at the Rockford Rescue Mission. “From my understanding it’s a group of teens. They run in a pack of four to six, and they’re just doing this at random.

“They have no conscience,” Medland added. “If they catch them sleeping, they’ll just run up and beat them and club them. If it’s a young person, they’ll watch to see if he passes out, and then they’ll jump him. I know of at least three people who went to the hospital.”

One such person is Robert L. Brown, 50, who has stayed at the Rescue Mission off and on for two years. He said he was beaten unconscious June 19.

“I fell asleep about 10 o’clock at night on Court Street across from the bank and woke up in the hospital with nine stitches on my head,” he said pointing to his left temple. “I still have bills in my folder from the hospital.”

Brown said he was hospitalized at SwedishAmerican Hospital for four days. He said he was not robbed, and he has no idea who attacked him or why.

‘I forget things now’

Two months later, Brown showed no visible scars, but he said, “Some of my memory is gone. I forget things now.”

Brown said he is lucky to be alive.

“The guys at the mission prayed for me,” he said. “That’s how I came back so fast.”

Larry Crocker, 41, sat in his wheelchair Monday evening outside the Red Cross homeless shelter. He wore a sleeveless shirt sporting bruises on both arms. He said his injuries came from two separate attacks last week.

“The first time they hit me with a chunk of concrete,” he said, pointing to his right shoulder.

Crocker said he was able to escape his attackers by rolling his wheelchair across the pedestrian bridge behind the downtown library.

“I was moving,” he said.

Thursday night, he couldn’t move fast enough. He was knocked out of his wheelchair and beaten, and he too woke up in a hospital bed at Rockford Memorial Hospital.

Advice from police

Sgt. Scot Nason of the Rockford Park District Police said his department was also aware of the attacks and said patrols are being beefed up in the downtown area as well. Meanwhile, Booker said, the homeless are being told to travel in pairs and sleep in shelters."

And if they are the victim of a battery, Booker said, “We need them to file a report.”

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